Conference: Criminal Governance in Comparative Perspective

Does the presence of criminal organizations always lead to insecurity, violence, and disorder? The premise of this conference is that criminal organizations engage in surprisingly diverse forms of institution building that produce equally different forms of governance. Criminal governance challenges many of our core assumptions about the underpinnings of democracy, the nature of the State, and the conditions that produce order and development. During the conference a diverse group of scholars will present cutting-edge research on the ways that criminal groups govern territories, economies, communities, and political processes. Panels will focus on the origins, dynamics, and consequences of governance by mafias, gangs, drug trafficking organizations and other criminal groups in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and North America.

This conference is made possible by the support of the Office of the Provost of Barnard College, The Alliance Program, the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, the Institute of Latin American Studies, and the Harriman Institute of Columbia University.